


Instead We're Over Here (done pretending)

by inksheddings



Category: Wild Adapter
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-10-01
Updated: 2008-10-01
Packaged: 2017-10-17 06:52:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/174083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inksheddings/pseuds/inksheddings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Time hasn't been Tokito's friend for a long while now.  Sooner or later, though, everything has to change.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Instead We're Over Here (done pretending)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MidniteMarauder](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MidniteMarauder/gifts).



_**Wild Adapter Fic: Instead We're Over Here (done pretending) [Kubota/Tokito; R; 2750 words]**_  
[](http://community.livejournal.com/saltydogstories/profile)[ **saltydogstories**](http://community.livejournal.com/saltydogstories/) revealed!

*tackle glomps* [](http://glass-icarus.livejournal.com/profile)[**glass_icarus**](http://glass-icarus.livejournal.com/) , who wrote me the lovely [ars fortuna](http://community.livejournal.com/saltydogstories/2885.html) (Wild Adapter; Kubota/Tokito; PG-13): _Tonight is the night that I will fall for you over again._ Kubota and Tokito, a mixtape.

Thank you so much! I was so very pleased to receive a WA fic! *beams*

Now, here's my entry. It was truly a challenge for me, since I was dealing with future possibilities and trying to figure out how Kubota and- especially -Tokito would react under such circumstances. But man, I have to say, I love this story to bits and pieces.

  
 **Title:** Instead We're Over Here (done pretending)  
 **For:** [](http://midnitemaraud-r.livejournal.com/profile)[**midnitemaraud_r**](http://midnitemaraud-r.livejournal.com/)  
 **Pairing:** Kubota/Tokito  
 **Fandom:** Wild Adapter  
 **Rating:** R  
 **Summary:** Time hasn't been Tokito's friend for a long while now. Sooner or later, though, everything has to change.  
 **Warnings:** AU futurefic. Does that count as a warning? *laughs*  
 **A/N:** 2750 words. Title and intermittent lyrics courtesy of Gavin Rossdale's "Love Remains the Same." Italics indicate flashbacks (hope that's not too confusing *frets*). Many heartfelt thanks to my beta, [](http://jedishampoo.livejournal.com/profile)[**jedishampoo**](http://jedishampoo.livejournal.com/)! And [](http://midnitemaraud-r.livejournal.com/profile)[**midnitemaraud_r**](http://midnitemaraud-r.livejournal.com/) : this story gave me fits like you wouldn't believe, but I loved writing it. I hope you enjoy, even if it didn't quite reach the levels of smut I'd originally foreseen. *hugs you _hard_ *

  
  
**  
Instead We're Over Here (done pretending)   
**

  
When they came to take Kubota away, Tokito endured a horrible sense of deja vu. It wasn't the first time he'd been terrified while Kubo-chan was interrogated by the police.

Two things were different, however. These two things made this particular experience exponentially more terrifying.

Unlike before, Tokito was there when the police knocked on the door. And, unlike before, Tokito knew damned well that it was entirely his fault.

  


  
*********   


  
Living with Taki-san wasn't so bad. He wasn't as tidy as Kubota, but he bought and made really good coffee and didn't mind that fact that Tokito had adopted his couch and television. He'd even given up his bed for a while when Tokito was in too much pain, too much of a daze, to rest comfortably on the lumpy cushions. When he'd finally felt better, he'd walked out to the living room to discover a brand new pull-out. Neither he or Taki-san said a word, but Tokito handed him the TV remote for the evening.

Kasai-san had offered Tokito his spare bedroom, but that would have been too awkward. He knew the old man meant well, but he felt enough guilt without having to face Kubo-chan's family every damned day.

Besides, Tokito needed to earn money. Tailing story leads for Taki-san was usually boring as fuck, but it meant he didn't have to make as many "deliveries" for the quack in order to pay his share of the rent. Not that he could turn down Kou-san entirely; he owed him, too, after all.

"Tokki...Tokito."

Taki-san took the remote out of Tokito's hand, finally getting his attention.

Tokito might have complained, but he'd done nothing but channel-surf for the last forty-five minutes, anyway.

"It's time," Taki-san said, a now-familiar touch on Tokito's shoulder nonetheless making him jump.

He pushed himself up off the couch and silently followed him out the door.

Yeah. Time hadn't been Tokito's friend for a long while. As his right arm tingled and began to feel sweaty under his jacket, despite the cold winter air, he wondered if it ever had been.

  


  
*********   


  
_"What the fuck are you talking about?"_

 _Tokito grabbed Kubota by the shoulders and threw him up against the wall. Paint chips fluttered lazily to the floor._

 _"What do you mean you_ confessed _? You've got nothing to confess to! No! Kubo-chan, you_ can't _do this! No! I won't let you!"_

 _Tokito knew he was hurting Kubota, digging his fingers– his claws –into his skin, right through his glove and the fabric of Kubota's shirt, but he couldn't help it. He couldn't stop it._

 _Kubota just smiled at him, cupped his cheek and wiped a stupid tear with his thumb. He leaned down and pressed his lips against the corner of Tokito's mouth, kissing him gently. It wasn't their first kiss, but Tokito couldn't–_ wouldn't _–bring himself to think of it as their last. He let Kubo-chan kiss him, leaned into it even, but barely kissed him back._

 _"Kubo-chan–"_

 _"Shhhh...you're not a stray anymore. You don't need to feed off of my scraps."_

 _Kubota let go of his face and pushed him carefully away, signaling to the detective and uniformed officer observing the whole mess with detached postures. They approached, along with Kasai-san, ready to lead Kubota away._

 _Tokito began to panic. He knew he could get Kubo-chan out of there, out of this entire fucked-up mess. He could tear them limb from limb, he was more than strong enough to do it. He didn't think he was strong enough to live without Kubota._

 _"No! No! He didn't do anything!" Tokito yelled, lunging forward and trying to get to Kubota. "It's my fault, all my–"_

 _Kasai-san took advantage of Tokito's panicked anguish, grabbing his arm and whirling him around. He slapped him hard across the face, hard enough that it took only seconds for Tokito to feel the sting of each individual finger._

 _"Kasai-san..." Tokito knew he was starting to cry in front of him, but he couldn't bring himself to feel ashamed. "He can't leave me. I won't let–"_

 _"Tokito, he's doing this_ for _you! If you don't let him do this...."_

 _Tokito felt himself trembling, felt the urge to tear himself away and tear a path straight to Kubota, but Kasai-san's pleading expression held him in place._

 _"He'll survive prison, Toki. He will. But if you don't let him do this for you...he wouldn't survive_ that _."_

 _Tokito desperately wanted to argue. But the truth of Kasai-san's words kept his mouth shut, even as his heart tore open._

  
*********   


Tokito had only gone to the prison once, three months after Kubota had been sent away. It had taken him that long to get over the shock, the anger. The anguish, he couldn't do much about.

He'd waited through the visiting hours, pestered the guards enough that he thought they might go ahead and imprison _him_ just to shut him up. But Kubota never came.

Kubota _had_ told him that he didn't need his scraps anymore. Tokito decided he wouldn't let Kubo-chan down, and didn't return.

  


  
*********   


  
_"Akira-san!"_

 _Tokito heard his own voice shouting the name, yet it sounded unfamiliar. It was fragile and tentative, the voice of a child. Tokito wasn't a child anymore, and he was more than capable of defending himself and those he cared for against...what, exactly? Against whom?_

 _He still didn't remember much, just bits and pieces of pain and fear and shame, all connected to Akira-san. There was hate in the mix as well, making Tokito shiver. He didn't really care what had been done to him anymore. He only cared about what he was going to do to Akira-san now that the tables were turned, now that he had tried to hurt_ Kubo-chan _._

 _He raised his clawed hand, never more happy in his life for his "affliction."_

 _"Tokito," Kubota said from where he sat, still slumped, against the rotting boxes that littered the warehouse. Tokito had thrown him haphazardly against them, out of harm's way, when he'd finally tracked him down. Tracked_ them _down. He'd been too late to save Kubota from obviously broken bones, but Kubota had managed to get a round off and incapacitate Akira-san with a bullet wound to the leg._

 _"Don't try and stop me, Kubo-chan. Don't–"_

 _"I know better than that. But use this." Kubota said, his voice raspy with pain. He nodded toward his gun, discarded on the floor halfway between where he sat and Tokito stood. "Don't give him the satisfaction of dying by your_ hand _."_

 _If Tokito had understood then what Kubota had in mind– broken bones preventing him from finishing off Akira-san himself and understanding that Tokito was too far gone to let the man leave alive– he_ might _have found a path away from his anger, away from murder._

 _He hadn't understood, unfortunately, too lost in a blend of past and present and not particularly caring about the future. He_ did _hesitate, however, looking at Kubota's battered body. He needed to get to a hospital._

 _"Min...Minoru...you don't want to do this."_

 _Tokito picked up the gun._

  


  
*********   


  
Somehow, Tokito wasn't too terribly surprised to find himself in front of his old apartment. Kubota's old apartment. Apparently it had been waiting just as long as Tokito had. He was glad he hadn't known or he might have tried living there still. But with Kubo-chan gone....

Kasai-san opened the door almost immediately after Taki-san's knock, face and body stiff with tension. Tokito would swear, however, that the man visibly relaxed as he alternately pulled and shoved him inside, wearing a weary yet honest smile.

"Toki-boy, good. You're here."

 _Here_ was...strange. He couldn't help but think that memories should be forcing their way to the surface. All his time with Kubota– the good and the bad –most of it had happened here. But nothing was coming forward. The place felt too big, too empty, despite the sight of the same old furniture and the smell of stale tobacco.

"You can leave now, Kasai. Thank you for your assistance," came the voice from the kitchen.

Ahhhh. That's where it all was.

Tokito pushed his way passed Kasai-san, barely noticinng the greetings exchanged between him and Taki-san or the click of the door closing as they took their leave.

Kubota was making coffee. "Do you still take it with cream and extra sugar?" he asked, his back turned, his hands busy with cups and spoons.

Tokito wanted nothing more than to throw himself at Kubo-chan, coffee be damned, but he could see the steam rising from the cups and he didn't want to risk burning him; hurting him. He slowed his pace enough to avoid such a catastrophe and slipped his arm around Kubota's waist, pressing his face into his back and breathing in deeply.

He wasn't sure whose body was shaking, but then a tentative hand covered his own and that was as much as Tokito could bear. He twisted Kubota around until they were face-to-face.

Kubota's hair was too long, some of it tinged with gray. He had different glasses, too, the frames black and made of thick plastic. They didn't suit his face, made his features appear gaunt instead of angular. Tokito wondered if they'd been required by the prison or if he'd simply needed a stronger prescription and this was all they'd had available. He reached up and tried to take them off, not wanting any more reminders of what had separated them for so long, but Kubota stopped him, taking his hand and pressing it against his cheek.

"Don't. I won't be able to see you properly."

Tokito relented and began tracing his face, including the fine lines underneath the glasses, stretching out from eyes to hairline.

Kubota laughed quietly. "You look all grown up, too, Tokito." He glanced farther down and a little to his left. "Maybe about seven pounds lighter, though."

Tokito was torn between laughing and crying, so he settled for a little bit of both. "Seven and a _half_ , dumbass!"

And before he knew it, Kubota had wrapped both his arms around Tokito and was kissing him fiercely. No tender coaxing necessary, Tokito opened up to him and moaned into his mouth at the taste of Kubo-chan's cigarettes and saliva.

They clung to each other, reached under clothing to stroke pure skin, unbuttoning and discarding right there in the kitchen. Tokito was busy losing himself in the sensations when fingertips stroked the scar on his right arm and he shivered and froze. Despite Kubo-chan's comment about the weight loss, seeing it and feeling it were two different things. Not that he thought Kubo-chan would be disgusted, but Tokito knew he might feel unnecessarily guilty for not having been there at the time.

"It must have hurt."

"It was nothing," Tokito answered truthfully.

The physical pain of the amputation truly had been nothing compared to when Kubo-chan had been taken from him. He'd had to be sure he was still around when he was released, and the effects of WA were spreading rapidly, halfway between his elbow and shoulder by the time he finally consented to Kou-san's deceptively mild insistence.

"Not according to Kou-san."

Tokito gave him a good hard shove, possibly to prove he was just as strong as ever– if not in quite as much danger of accidentally ripping anyone from limb to limb. Or purposely.

"You'd listen to that quack before me? Fuck you!" Tokito responded, only half-jokingly. He didn't want to talk about what was left of his arm or what used to be his hand. It didn't matter; all that mattered was that Kubo-chan was here, with him.

Kubota pulled him back against his body, and the press of their chests immediately cooled Tokito's temper as it raised his temperature. _God_ , he'd missed this; missed Kubo-chan with an intensity that made the loss of a hand and part of an arm a mere nuisance, nothing of any consequence whatsoever.

He was in danger of crying in earnest, of breaking down completely. Everything he'd bottled up over the years, collecting and simmering, had been waiting for this very moment to shake loose. He'd had no idea how this reunion would play out, despite having worked his ass off every day, every month, every year, passing the time as quickly as possible until it arrived. Maybe he'd occasionally fooled himself into thinking he was doing well, actually taking care of himself; not craving Kubo-chan's "scraps." He'd been alive, after all.

Here, though, with Kubota's breath moist and warm in his ear, he finally _felt_ alive. He licked away one of his own tears from Kubo-chan's bare shoulder and squeezed a little more tightly.

"No. I take that back. Not fuck _you_ , Kubo-chan. Fuck me. Please. _Please_ , Kubo-chan. Fuck me."

The coarse words came more easily than expected, perhaps because he meant them so intently, though he still felt himself blush with the need of it. Tokito _needed_ to feel Kubo-chan all over him, in him, around him. Needed to know that he was still _his_ , despite the stupid and infuriating make-believe independence that had been forced on both of them because Tokito had lost it, killing the man who'd given him that damnable hand in the first place.

But the hand was gone. Akira-san was gone. It was just them now.

Tokito tugged at Kubota, as if to pull him down on the kitchen floor and have at it right there. He really didn't care where they did it, just that he got what he wanted and that he got it _now_.

Kubota wouldn't be dragged down, however, and Tokito whimpered and wondered if he'd done something wrong, if maybe he was being too hasty and that Kubota didn't want that from him yet, or –worse– anymore.

"Shhhhh, Tokito. Hold on."

Kubota led him over the sofa, holding his hand firmly.

"If you don't wanna, then–"

"Shut up, Tokito, and let me _look_ at you," Kubota said, his voice tinged with so much affection that Tokito relaxed instantly.

Well, until Kubota pushed him down on his back and kneeled over him, his eyes slowly scanning his body, clothed only in jeans and socks. If Tokito wanted to feel possessed by Kubo-chan, the hungry look in his eyes might actually have been enough.

Kubota smiled. Tokito bit his lip and thrust up against him, his body burning and impatient. But then Kubota kissed his lips quickly, licking at them playfully before resting his forehead against Tokito's.

"I don't want your penance, Tokito. You didn't do anything wrong by killing that man. I didn't do anything wrong by taking the fall. We both did what needed to be done."

Tokito was about to argue but then Kubota shifted slightly, taking hold of his arm and licking a slow line from one end of his scar to the other. He would have sworn he could feel it in his fingertips, if he still had any.

"If you want me to fuck you, I will, right through the couch and down through the floor. Happily so. But not because it's your special way of saying sorry."

Kubota ground his hips against Tokito's, earning an appreciative and unexpectedly loud moan.

"The only person to blame was that man. And he's dead. It's all good now, Tokito. It's all good."

And how could Tokito not believe him? He had no idea what Kubota had gone through in prison, had no idea what had caused the few gray hairs in the fall of his too-long bangs, but maybe it didn't matter.

Tokito had been waiting for nothing more than to have Kubo-chan back. As he felt his jeans disappear, as he felt a warm mouth close over his cock, he realized that he had everything he'd ever wanted, everything he'd wished for over the last few years. Everything, everything, _everything_.

They never made it to the bedroom, and Kubota didn't quite manage to fuck Tokito through the floor. However, as their bodies cooled and Tokito traced the few unfamiliar scars Kubota now carried on his back, he figured it didn't matter. Kubota was home– they were _both_ home– even though Tokito wondered if maybe they should look for a new place. They both had new scars, and there would be ample opportunity to discuss each one of them if they so desired. Or not.

Maybe time had never been Tokito's friend, but for now it wasn't his enemy either.

  
 **END**

 _I never thought that I  
Had anymore to give  
You're pushing me so far  
Here I am without you  
Drink to all that we have lost  
Mistakes we have made  
Everything will change  
But love remains the same_   



End file.
